BUKO, Mountain Province – Mayor Abraham B. Akilit recently lashed out at officials of concerned government agencies for allegedly sabotaging the on-going construction of the multi-million Cordillera Regional Disaster Center within a government-owned property in the municipality, saying that such actuations of supposed responsible public servants are contrary to acceptable normal and conduct of public officers. The local chief executive claimed that the construction site was allegedly padlocked by purported representatives from the education department’s Provincial Schools division while the Cordillera office of the National Commission on indigenous peoples (NCIP-CAR came out with a ruling that the area where the disaster center is being built is part of the public domain.
However, Akilit revealed that upon making the necessary representations with the education department, there was no order from them to padlock the project site that will significantly affect the implementation of the project because they were not allegedly aware of the situation in the area.
“We do not understand why there are some private or public officers who want the project to be delayed when it will benefit not only the people of Mountain Province but also other people who will be in needed of evacuation areas from other parts of the region during emergency situations,” Mayor Akilit stressed.
He argued that there is no basis for the NCIP-CAR to claim that the over 2,-square meter area donated by the local government to the office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Cordillera for the construction of the regional disaster center is part of the public domain because it was already surveyed and segregated for the requirements of the municipality based on survey conducted way back n 1906.
According to him, the on-going construction of the regional disaster center which was provided with the appropriate funding from the OCD-CAR had already been delayed for several days because of the project site having padlocked by still unidentified individuals who simply want to derail the realization of the project which is supposed to be one of his major accomplishments.
Mayor Akilit urged concerned stakeholders to openly discuss the issues and concerns related to the project during consultations and not for them to attempt to sabotage the realization of the project which is considered to be a cowardly act of those responsible for the unnecessary suspension of the construction activities in the project site.
He pointed out that why are the critics of the project looking at the regional disaster center when most portions of the property had already been intruded by alleged informal settlers when the purpose of the put up of the regional disaster center is to help in attracting the influx of more government agencies to establish their offices in the town to help improve the conduct of economic activities beneficial to the residents.
Akilit called on his detractors and critics of the project not to resort to squid tactics but instead face the project implementers to prove their points against the project so that the realization of the disaster center will not be compromised simply because of certain political and personal interests of a few individuals.
By HENT